Don’t Cut Medicaid Services to Californians with Disabilitie
Tell Congress: Medicaid is a Lifeline for People With Disabilities!
More than 500,000 Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families rely on Medicaid-funded services and supports throughout the entirety of their lifetime. From early intervention between the ages of zero to three, to therapies provided by their school, to independent living and employment opportunities as adults. Medicaid funds about half of all of these services in California through Medi-Cal.
Congressional Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has published a list of possible spending cuts that include $2.3 trillion to Medicaid, with the largest Medicaid cut coming from “Per-Capita Caps”, which means that the federal government would set a cap on the total services and supports any individual could receive throughout their lifetime. For an individual with a lifelong intellectual or developmental disability, this would be catastrophic.
If Congress and President Trump sign a cut to Medicaid into law, then California would lose hundreds of billions of dollars and would likely be forced into cutting programs funded by Medicaid. So, what are those programs? Here is a quick snapshot of services and supports that would be threatened:
- All regional center services for Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families (supported living, supported employment, transportation, day programs, respite, early intervention, group homes, and many more).
- In-Home Supportive Services for people with disabilities and seniors (IHSS).
- Covered health care for people with disabilities, low-income children, pregnant mothers, and other low-income Californians (Medi-Cal).
- All long-term care services, including nursing facilities, prescription drugs, and home and community-based services.
- School services and therapies for children on Medi-Cal, including school psychologists, speech and language therapists, personal care aides, nurses, and more.
Californians with disabilities and seniors are especially vulnerable to cuts to Medicaid because they account for just under half of all Medicaid expenditures in California.
We need our California representatives to speak up for their constituents with disabilities and oppose any attempts by Congressional leadership to pass these draconian cuts. Click . HERE to contact your member of Congress
Our stories
A mother who wants stability for her son
"Our son, David, has autism and significant difficulties with language and needs 24-hour staff support. In the last 27 months David has had 10 different support staff. For obvious reasons, this is not an ideal situation, and recruiting for David can be challenging due to the difficulties of communicating with him. Given the low wage rate with little opportunity for advancement, finding a higher paying job is always a prime motivation for staff to move on. There is always uncertainty about when the situation will resolve, and uncertainty is difficult for David and the rest of our family. The reassurance that would come with improvements for our direct support staff and knowing that the system is stable is priceless."
- Betsy Katz, Mom and President of The Arc of California
A direct support professional financially struggling
"I receive a paycheck twice a month. I work 120 hours plus each pay period and I bring home only $1500 at the most, usually less than that after taxes. I can't even afford my own place. I even started driving for Lyft to make ends meet. I love my job I enjoy going to work every day but it's not enough to survive."
- Anonymous Direct Support Professional, Solano County
The state budget matters
The Problem
For two decades, the state is failing Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), causing individuals and families to suffer without critical services and supports. Violating its legal requirement under the Lanterman Act, the state has chronically underfunded the community based organizations that provide services such as supported employment, independent living, family respite, and community integration. As a result, the workforce is leaving in masses - forced to leave the job they love because they struggle with poverty as a result of low wages - and programs are closing their doors. Instead of receiving the services they need to actively contribute to our communities, people are sitting at home without services and families are left abandoned by the state that promised to support them.
The Promise
California's Lanterman Act passed in 1969. This law sought to end the long era of institutionalization by setting up the regional center system instead. This meant that people with I/DD could stay in their communities of origin instead of being removed to the segregated isolation of an institution. When this law passed state lawmakers promised to fund community based services and supports people with I/DD need to live full lives. Yet in recent years the state has failed to live up to its promise, leaving people with I/DD unsupported, isolated, and vulnerable.
What Can You Do?
Take two minutes to contact the Governor your elected officials to support the recommendations of The Lanterman Coalition to address the acute disability system workforce crisis! #TheFutureIncludesUs